The Chocolate Kiss
by another.creative.lover
Summary: /SasuSaku/ It's Valentine's Day, and Sakura's still a little scarred from the last time she tried giving Sasuke chocolates. Now, Naruto and Kakashi are trying to help the two lovebirds together. Starts with confusion, ends with a kiss.


**Disclaimer and Author's Note: **I do not own Naruto. Or the idea that was used to create this fanfic. The idea was purely inspired by my friend Christina Mai who showed me her comic thing… Anyways, she's a talented artist, and I hope that someday she stumbles across this oneshot and thinks of me. :) Oh, and this does sort of follow the Naruto plot, with them being ninja and in teams and all. :)

Oh, and I don't know if it enhances the reading or anything, but at the scene where Sakura and Sasuke are out in the snow, I listened to Straylight Run's _Existentialism on Prom Night_. And it made me feel something inside. :) So, I don't know—a _suggestion_. Enjoy.

**If you love Death Note fanfics as much as I do:**

Please, be sure to read my dear friend _Miss Bright_'s wonderful Death Note fic, _**Subtract, Add, Unite, and Conquer**_. :D It's a wonderful Mello x OC.

**-xxx-**

**The Chocolate Kiss**

**By annee loves sasusaku**

"HEY, FOREHEAD!" A blonde girl in a nearby flower shop waved to a pink-haired girl across the road, her cerulean orbs twinkling like sparkling lakes of deep blue ocean.

Sakura visibly winced as she heard her blonde friend from the other side of the street. Oh, why, dear God, did she have to be cursed with such loudmouthed friends? Sighing with exasperation, she turned to the girl's call, posing with a hand on her hip and her chin stuck out defiantly. "What is it, Pig?" she asked, striding over to the Yamanaka flower shop and eyeing the blonde with an intensity only Sakura could hold and handle.

Looking over the many flowers of the shop (you know, just to see if they were in order or not) before letting her gaze slip to her pink-haired friend, Ino gave the pinkette a dazzling smile.

"Guess what, Forehead?" Ino teasingly asked, twirling a pretty cosmos flower in the rosette's face.

Sakura pushed away the flower and wrinkled her nose before drawling out, "Oh, let me guess. You're setting your sights on Chouji because Shikamaru's too busy with Temari to catch your interests?"

The blonde gave her the evil eye as if daring her to say anything more on the matter. Both girls glared at each other, hands on the counter and blue eyes clashing emerald orbs in a heated stare. Although the two of them were just fifteen years of age, they both were growing into beautiful women, their bodies present with more visible curves and their faces more proportionate.

Breaking the staring contest with a simple wave of her hand and a _Hmph!_, Ino set the cosmos down on the counter and gave Sakura a more serial look as if telling her that she didn't call her here to argue like children.

"Sakura, we've got to get you a boyfriend somehow…" muttered the blonde, tangling a mess of golden strands in her hand before turning her head to look at the calendar nearby.

The rosette mirrored her movement, glancing at the calendar… and nearly smacked herself in the face for being so dense towards Ino's intentions.

How could Sakura have forgotten about that? Looking at the calendar, bold letters spelling out the word _February_. The rosette's eyes were seeing that, though. She saw today's date. Thursday, February 14th.

That meant only one thing:

_Valentine's Day_.

The pink-haired girl felt chills crawl up her spine. Valentine's Day…

That day was a day for lovers to enjoy themselves, shower each other with chocolates and kisses and heartfelt sayings, or a day for singles to pair up with one another in hopes of kindling a beautiful relationship with prosperity in the years to come.

But Valentine's Day was no such day for our pink-haired heroine.

The past three years were filled with terrible memories on Valentine's Day for Sakura, rejection and heartbreak the two key things.

And it was all because of that stupid, arrogant prick of an Uchiha.

It was when she was merely a twelve-year-old, prepubescent girl with raging hormones that Valentine's Day no longer was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. The memory was still fresh in her mind as if it had just happened yesterday.

If she could remember correctly, Sakura remembered the incident as a beautiful, snowy day in the middle of February about three years ago that everything seemed to go wrong…

It wasn't anything big; it was just that, those years ago, she had been so obsessed with him like the rest of the village. She had offered him a small piece of chocolate for Valentine's Day—and, the big ice of cold heartedness he was, he turned it down, slapping the chocolate from her hand harshly and walking away. The mere action itself scarred her: every Valentine's Day, she wouldn't offer chocolates to anyone, not even the blond or her sensei; the only chocolate she wanted to give was to Sasuke.

"Gah, this is so stupid!" The rosette slammed her trained fist on the counter, almost breaking it in half. "What am I going to do?"

Her best friend smirked, looked at her nails and then picked a flower from a nearby vase, giving it a deep sniff before she said, "I've got it all covered."

"_Sasuke-kun!"_

That was the scream of the village as a hoard of girls dashed after a raven-haired young man of about fifteen years of age, yelling things like… well, things like these:

"SASUKE-KUN! YOU'RE SO HOT!"

"Sasuke-kun, can you please go out with me?~"

"I WILL RAPE YOU IF I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!"

"I love you, Sasuke-kun!"

Yup. The typical fangirl sayings.

As the raven-haired boy dashed into the crowded part of town near Ichiraku's (seriously, who in the world would eat things like ramen these days if you had a perfectly good tomato at home?), the bunch of girls scattered in hopes of finding their object of affection. No such luck availed when their dear Sasuke-kun was nowhere in sight. After minutes of impatient searchings, the girls gave up and decided to slink back to… well, wherever they came from. Probably the depths of some kind of fangirl hell, but that's up for another time of discussion.

Not far from the Ichiraku ramen bar in a cherry blossom field, the handsome young man by the name of Uchiha Sasuke let out a breath of relief when he, at last, had gotten rid of those pesky fangirls. Seriously! Don't they have anything else to do in their miserable, boy-chasing lives? Even though Sasuke may be a very dazzling young man, that didn't mean that they should devote all of their time worshipping him like he was some god. Not that he _wasn't_ a sex god, of course. (**A/N:** Heh-heh. Already having his ego get to him, ne?)

What really got to him was the sheer persistence of the fangirls. Every time the young man rejected them, they always seemed to have the message pass right through their ears.

The first time he had rejected them wasn't as bad. It was just a bunch of I'm sorry's or I'm not really looking for anyone's. But every single time, they seemed to get more and more pesky.

The second time was terrible: they screamed; they fainted; they made an absolutely big fuss about him just walking down the street. That was almost as worse as bowing down at someone's feet and declaring that you would eat their shit.

And last but not least: the third time. Which was also the final time, but that didn't really matter much. What did matter was that the fangirls got even more riled up. When he made his way down the street, the girls swarmed at him. They tried ripping off his pants, plucking his hair, and still, screaming loud declarations of undying love for him. Almost as worse as the moment before when he was desperately trying to run away from those frightening fangirls.

And those moments seemed to get worse on the fourteenth of February, the day of supposed love and chocolates and Cupid arrows. Sasuke cringed as the holiday name sprung up in his mind.

Valentine's Day.

Which just so happened to be today.

Those pants-ripping, hair-plucking, love declaring good times (insert sarcasm drip) all seemed loaded with chocolates, Sasuke tees, and frightening displays of affection. All directed towards him. And if that wasn't the worst, all the guys came after him, too for "stealing their girls". As Shikamaru would say: "What a drag…"

Well, look on the bright side, ne? At least he didn't have fanboys.

"I need to train," he murmured to himself as he walked through the cherry blossom fields to meet the three wooden logs that stood for target practice.

Coincidentally, he saw his three other team mates standing on the training grounds as if waiting for him to come: Kakashi, with that stupid, perverted orange book in his hand; Naruto, with that stupid grin on his face; and Sakura, with that stupid… stupid…

Stupid everything. That stupid pink hair that he never really admitted he was sort of fond of; those stupid green eyes that sparkled every time they saw him; and that stupid smile that was always on her face whenever she greeted him. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

As nonchalant as he could, the young Uchiha prodigy sauntered over to his teammates, greeting them with a stoic "Hn". At least he would get some normality here. Sort of. "So, Kakashi," the raven-haired boy deadpanned, "what are we doing today?"

"Why, Sasuke," drawled the older man, still having his eyes glued to that pervy book of his, "It's Valentine's Day." He tore his gaze away from his porn and smiled behind his mask, the visible eye crinkling. "I just wanted the four of us to have a team lunch together."

So that you wouldn't be swarmed with those fangirls of yours, Kakashi had silently said. And Sasuke understood that, nodding and taking the hint. Thank God…

"Which is why we are having our team lunch at the best place in town: Moé!"

The raven-haired boy let his eyebrow raise a notch. Moé? One of the most expensive, most romantic places in Konoha? Sasuke narrowed his eyes when he saw Kakashi and Naruto exchange winks while Sakura acted as if she didn't know something, suspiciously whistling out of the blue. What in the world were they planning?

He'd find out soon enough.

"Hn. Fine then." Taking the first step, he led the way to the restaurant, all the while listening to the freakish snickers Naruto and Kakashi were eliciting. 'Freaks,' Sasuke thought as he ignored them and continued walking, unaware of a certain rosette watching his face tentatively.

'God, I hope this works,' Sakura prayed, looking back at the two doofuses behind her and mouthing for them to "Shut the hell up" before she turned right around to find the four of them right in front of the restaurant. She gulped. 'Here goes nothing…' Stepping inside the restaurant, they placed their table by a window to look at all the beautiful snow.

Konoha was snowy during December, January, and February, so it was a sight to see every day. Well, to Sasuke it was. To Sakura—not so much (Spring was a better time for her).

The four of them sat down at the table, Naruto and Kakashi squishing into one side of the booth while Sasuke and Sakura were forced into the other one. Sasuke, silently eager to see the snow, sat next to the window. Sakura didn't mind.

As they sat waiting for someone to place their orders, Naruto and Kakashi started scheming while Sasuke (that sly guy) took a peek at the pinkette next to him.

Sakura seemed fairly warm in her ninja garb: a long red shirt slit up both hips with the Haruno circle imprinted on the front flap, long arm-warmers that formed gloves at the end where her hands were, a pair of dark blue jeans, and earmuffs and boots.

Sasuke nodded in silent approval of her outfit and shifted his eyes to her face, the part of her he always saw when he was sleeping—those shiny green eyes, those smiling lips, and that pale, creamy skin that whispered true beauty to whoever's eyes that dared to grace her…

Who would have thought that such a stoic young man (i.e. supposed prickface) was such a softie at heart?

Sakura stared off into space, unaware of Sasuke's eyes on her face. 'Oh, dear God, what am I going to do? I mean, Naruto and Kakashi are making me stay here with Sasuke-kun—alone. What the hell are they thinking?' Her inner monologue rambled on and on and on…

Until Kakashi shut his porn book with a quick _Fwap_! and cleared his throat. "Well then…" drawled the white-haired sensei as he got up from the table.

Sakura nearly twitched. 'Oh, no…'

Sasuke's hands grew damp in anticipation.

"I think I forgot to turn off the stove at home," Kakashi said, stating a clearly obvious excuse.

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura questioned it.

Naruto stood up straight, nearly knocking over the table. "Um, I have to go, too! Yeah, dattebayo," Naruto rambled, trying to think of an excuse off the top of his head. "Um, I think I'll go with Kakashi-sensei to check out that stove of his."

The two of them waved a good-bye and voiced, "Ja ne!" before they both disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Leaving the other two in a very awkward silence.

"Um…" Sakura began, hoping to clear it up. 'C'mon… don't mess up here—this is a once in a lifetime chance!'

"How about that snow, ne?" Sakura cringed at herself mentally. 'Gah, stupid!'

"Hn." Sasuke was pounding inside. How in the world was he going to deal with this? Now was the worst time to be socially crippled.

More awkward silence.

"Uh, maybe I should go over on that side of the table…" The rosette, not hearing an objection from the raven-haired boy, got up and moved.

More awkward silence.

"…"

"…"

"Hello!" burst in a waitress cheerfully, thankfully breaking the silence. "You two must be here for the Valentine's Day special!"

Sasuke hn-ed.

Sakura grinned sheepishly at the waitress. "Uh, he meant yes!" She shot a glare at the raven-haired boy.

He pretended like he couldn't feel her green eyes boring into his skull—ignored.

"Alright then!" chirped the waitress cheerfully. "I'll get right to it!" She skipped away.

Once the waitress was out of earshot, Sakura shot right back to Sasuke. "Jeez, Sasuke-kun, at least be polite and answer like a human being. That was rude."

"Hn."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "I'm serious, Sasuke-kun…"

The raven-haired boy stifled the smirk that threatened to slither across his face. "What would you want me to say to her?" he asked, challenging her with a quirk of his eyebrow and a small smirk.

Sakura gritted her teeth as she looked back at him, unconsciously admiring his handsome face. He had always been such a pretty boy from the start, and even now, he was slowly growing into a handsome young man, his face holding sharp yet elegant features that were carefully framed by a spike of bangs with the rest of his hair jutting out in the back.

"Sakura."

Blink, blink. "Eh?" She found herself staring right into a pair of obsidian orbs.

"Stop staring at me."

The rosette blushed, not noticing how Sasuke's eyes seemed to admire the way her cheeks seemed to color. "Sorry…"

In a beautiful flurry, the waitress fluttered back, carrying an abundance of foot toward the table that would have been able to feed an entire army.

Well, the two of them would have compensated as an entire army, but let's just… continue, shall we?

The two of them ate in silence, unable to start a conversation as they dug into their food and chewed. All the while, the two of them battled with their consciences.

Sakura mentally groaned. '_This is _such_ a fail…_' she cried internally as she quietly bit into a juicy tomato. '_We aren't talking, we aren't holding hands—gah, Ino and Naruto and Kakashi are all going to be so disappointed…_' She had to make a move. She had to, had to, had to. If she didn't, everything would be lost and she wouldn't be able to get another chance.

Sasuke wanted to sigh and beat his head against the table. Why in the world was he being so difficult with her? It felt like three years ago all over again when he had accidentally slapped the chocolate out of her hand. He had felt so irritated at all of the chocolate and fangirls and flowers that day, that it was too much when he saw the chocolates in her hand. He had never meant to do it, never meant to hurt her innocent heart with his harsh words that day. She never offered him anything ever again, let alone talk to him without stuttering (up until a few months ago, she stopped stuttering completely). Now, he was finally given a chance to redeem himself with her. But where was the chance going to go when he was like, well, _this_? It was obvious that she wanted to leave—now. God, he was so horrible at this… would someone please at least give him the chance to show that he cared about her?

Gah. Someone—please stab the two of them with kunais, _now_.

"Man, are you two done with your food already?" the waitress from early asked as she came by with a crapful of dirty dishes and a pout on her face. "I didn't even hear one sweet word of love."

Sasuke snorted while Sakura nearly burst out laughing at the thought of hearing Sasuke say something _sweet_ or even _human_ for once in his life.

The waitress sighed, shifting the dirty dishes onto one arm as she pulled out the check and placed a couple of Hershey's kisses onto the table. Before she pivoted on her heel and turned away, she looked at Sakura and whispered, "You can do this, girl. It's Valentine's Day—make a move!" With a wink, she turned and walked away.

Sakura sighed; why the hell did _everyone_ just _have_ to believe that _she_, the freaky ginormous forehead girl with freak pink hair, would be able to capture the heart of the most attractive young man in the entire village? No, not even the village—the entire _world_? She dug into her pocket, looking for some money, hoping she had enough—until another hand stopped her. She looked up at the raven-haired man across from her and looked back down to his hand at her pocket.

"I'll pay," he simply said as he took out a wad of bills and plunked it onto the table, scooting out of the booth and, turning to look back at her, cocked an eyebrow. "Sakura."

"Ah! Coming!" She pushed herself out of the booth and followed him, though not before taking the Hershey's kisses the waitress had left on the table earlier.

The two of them stepped out into the cold, snowy winter wonderland, listening to the crunch of snow beneath their feet. Sakura smiled when she felt a snowflake tickle her nose and giggled, wiping it away.

Sasuke just stared at her from the corner of his eyes before he shifted the collar of his shirt up a little.

"It's so pretty," she said into the whiteness, holding her hands out in front of her as she tried to catch the snowflakes. Then she remembered something—_the Hersheys_. She pulled out a kiss and unwrapped it, stuck it in her mouth, and chewed thoughtfully, smiling at the simple taste of them.

The two of them walked toward the bridge that led to the hot springs and stopped, Sakura leaning on the red railing, her back facing the raven-haired man.

Sasuke couldn't help but watch in pure amazement; this girl could act so carefree while he, burdened by the loss of his family, the loss of his loved ones, couldn't. Why couldn't he do that? Why couldn't he just toss everything away and enjoy what she enjoyed, a simple Hershey's kiss?

The rosette, obviously feeling his eyes upon her, turned back to look over her shoulders and smiled at him, holding out another Hershey's kiss. She did it with a calm heart, hoping with all of her heart that he would accept it yet realizing that there was a possibility that he wouldn't—it was all one big realization in one tiny Hershey's kiss for the both of them. When he didn't move, she unwrapped it with a gloved finger and held it between two fingers, reaching up to his mouth with the small chocolate and placing it right in front of his lips. "C'mon, Sasuke-kun," she said, smiling at him, "Just eat it. It won't bite."

"Hn." Opening his lips, he let his tongue slip past quickly and grab at the candy, pulling it back in to where he munched on it quietly, all the while full aware of the pink-haired girl's eyes upon him.

'_He ate it…_' she thought, a grin that challenged Naruto's spreading across her face. '_He really accepted it._' Without realizing it, she took the little slip of paper that came with every Hershey's kiss and poked his cheek with it. "I kissed you."

He stared at her. At her hair. At the snowflakes on her eyelashes. At the slip of paper with the words _kiss_ written in blue.

She stared at him, realizing her dorky move, and pulled her hand and the slip of paper away. "I-I-I'm so sorry!" she said, fumbling, the arm warmers slowly slipping off of her arms as she struggled to conceal that blush that was furiously starting to overtake her face. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, I—"

Her words were cut off when she felt a warm body press her against the railing of the bridge and had both of her arms away from her. She looked up into dark, dark, _dark_ eyes and shuddered, looking away before she returned back to his gaze with teary green apple eyes. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered, noticing him tighten his grip around her wrists. She closed her eyes tight when she felt him lean in, closer, closer, probably to punish her for what she did…

…and felt a warm breath fan her ear.

"Now it's my turn," he murmured, "to kiss _you_."

Before she could even gasp, her lips were crushed by a surprisingly soft pair, ones that massaged at hers, that coaxed for hers to open so that he could explore her, taste her. Shyly, she opened her mouth and let her tongue touch his, returning his rough kiss with a sweet one of her own.

Sasuke stifled a groan, hating how the fire pooled inside his stomach at her response and how he wanted to taste more of her. It made him so curious, _so_ curious… and that curiosity led to where he decided to push himself off of her lips (reluctantly, of course) and stare at her pink cheeks, rosy red lips, and shining emerald eyes that stared back at him with hope and love that never seemed to end. He pushed back some pink locks away from her face, letting one of her hands free. Her one free hand traveled to her wet lips and traced the same path that Sasuke's had just moments ago.

He stared. She stared.

"Sakura…"

Blink, blink. "Eh?"

"It's Valentine's Day," was all he said as he caught a snowflake on a calloused hand, still keeping his eyes locked with hers, wondering if she could read his thoughts about now, thoughts that basically said, _Please—be my Valentine. Be mine and no one else's_.

And those emerald eyes, the eyes that seemed to see right into his soul, saw it—and she nodded. "Yes," she murmured, tippy-toeing to place a soft kiss on his lips. "I will be."

Sasuke reached for her free hand and squeezed it, returning her kiss. "Will you?"

She giggled. "Yes. Yes, Sasuke-kun, I will."

He let his lips roam around the frame of her face. "And why would that be? Why would you do that when I've caused you so much pain?"

She caught his face in her hands and gave him a gentle smile up at him. "It's all because I love you."

With another kiss, Sasuke managed to taste a faint chocolate aftertaste on her tongue, Sakura smiled, and they fell into it, lost in the snow and almost dead to the world. But it didn't really matter much—especially when all they really needed was each other and more of those beautiful chocolate kisses.

**-xxx-**

**Author's note: **Wahhh, it's so mushy! / I'm so embarrassed. (laughs) Yeah. This was so fluffy, I was going to _die_. :D Hope you all enjoyed it. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!


End file.
